


The Man in the Flower Shop

by RottenBoneThief



Category: Boyfriend to Death (Visual Novels)
Genre: Gen, Plants, Succulents, flower shop
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-07
Updated: 2017-10-07
Packaged: 2019-01-10 08:58:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,330
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12295812
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RottenBoneThief/pseuds/RottenBoneThief
Summary: Summary: You’re wary of the man in the flower shop. Something about his eyes keeps you on edge, but there’s something else about him just isn’t right. Lawrence doing what Lawrence does best: Creepin’. Written for Day 3 of Goretober: Plants. Warnings/Tags: Nothing bad this time, just some interaction with Law!





	The Man in the Flower Shop

He’s got the kind of stare that makes your skin crawl, but you think you’re rude for feeling that way. He’s been watching you the entire time you’ve been in the store, eyes never leaving you, no matter where you move. The little flower shop is always open late, and something about the greenhouse comforts you.

Well, it usually comforts you, but tonight, he’s here, and he’s watching you.

You’ve seen him in passing several times. Usually when you’re going out, he’s coming in, but tonight, he’s already here. 

“Lawrence, could you help me lift this?” It’s the cashier, the only employee in the entire store right now. She’s got a name tag with cute little bear stickers on it, and beneath her name it says Store Manager, but she looks so young, you almost don’t believe it. She’s trying to lift a bag of soil up onto a higher shelf, and without question, the man snaps his eyes away from you and moves to help her. She’s laughing. She’s smiling. She doesn’t seem the least bit concerned about this guy.

Lawrence. She said his name’s Lawrence. Your eyes linger on him. It’s your turn to watch now. He easily takes the forty pound bag from the girl, hefting it onto his shoulder, using that leverage to lift it higher up and set it on the top shelf where it needs to be. Watching him move is mesmerizing. He looks so gaunt to you, like he’d be frail, but as he moves you realize he is much stronger than the meek shadow you’d thought him to be.

“Thanks so much! Gosh, it’s always great to have you around here, Law.” She’s smiling at him, and for the first time, you see him smiling, too. Well, sort of smiling. It’s more like a nervous and uncomfortable twist of his lips, but it’s more than you’ve ever seen from him. He’s scratching at his cheek, eyes to the floor. She says something else to him, but again, his eyes are looking off, this time at the wall, then back to some plants, pretty much anywhere but her. They finally stop shifting, focusing back on you again.

You freeze for a minute, both of you staring straight at each other, holding one another’s gaze with an equal amount of uncertainty.

“Oh!! Hey there!! Can we help you with anything?” Nikki says ‘we’, despite the fact that Lawrence doesn’t really work there. She smiles and waves at you and you shake your head, going back to looking at the closest thing to you.

It’s a standing rack of succulents.

You’ve made yourself nervous. Just a little bit. You’re kind of embarrassed that you got caught staring, but somewhere in the back of your mind, you know you’re overreacting. He doesn’t think you were staring, does he? Well, even if he does, he was staring first!

Right?

Right.

You take comfort in that. For you, it’s reasonable enough. You can’t feel his eyes on you anymore, and when you look back Nikki is alone, watering a couple rows of Zinnia’s. You relax, heaving a breath you didn’t know you were holding, turning back to the little potted succulents. They’re cute to you, in varying shapes and colours. You know they’re easy to take care of, you only have to water them once a month typically. You pick up one, it’s in a small wooden box, mostly green with burgundy along its edges, lazily unfurled, as if it were planning to sleep forever. You marvel over it, tilting it this way and that, examining every inch of the pudgy leaves.

“That’s called a Pittonii Succeulent” You jump, shouting, holding the plant close to your chest as if you were trying to protect it. You look up and there he is, standing right beside you. Lawrence. He looks like you’re the one who’s startled him, his hands pulled close to him, eyes wide.

“What?” You blink, not really sure how to calm yourself down. Your fear of him is irrational, you know that, but something in the way he keeps watching you is so God damn unsettling…

“Pittonii…” He repeats, pointing at the succulent in your hands. His voice is low and uneven, but you finally register what he’s been saying. 

“Oh.” You look at the plant, turning it, inspecting it. You had no idea what kind of a succulent it was, you just thought it was pretty. You look up at Lawrence and manage a nervous little smile. As odd and uncomfortable as he is, something about him feels endearing to you. His face flushes and he looks back down at the rack of succulents, nervously fiddling with the sleeves of his oversized jacket. 

“Thank you, ah, Lawrence.” You say his name uncertainly, “I had no idea. Do you know a lot about plants?” He’s startled when he hears his name from your lips, looking back at you for a moment before hiding his face again, staring down at the plants.

“Uh… sort of. Yeah.” He mumbles something else under his breath, but you can’t decipher it. You try to think of plant-related questions, growing more comfortable with the awkward man, but before any come to mind, he’s making his way back over to Nikki without so much as a goodbye. You shrug, continuing to look over some more of the succulents, only looking back when you hear the front door shut and the bell overhead ring.

Guess he left.

You look around for a minute before taking your little Pittonii Succulent up to Nikki, smiling some. 

“Can I ah… buy this little guy?” you hold him up meekly and she nods, smiling back at you.

“Of course! That’ll be $4.45, do you want me to put him in a bag?” You shake your head, paying for your new little friend, cradling him to you as you leave. Waving at Nikki as you push out of the door, you find yourself mumbling to the plant.

“Pittonii… Pittonii… Guess I’ll call you Tony for short…” You laugh to yourself, well, not to yourself, you’re laughing to Tony, really. The two of you make your way out of the little shop, walking across the dimly-lit parking lot with a bit of a bounce in your step. You see a shadow peeling off the wall of the Flower Shop out of the corner of your eye and turn to look, too late to get a good shot at doing much of anything. As you turn, the first thing you see is a fist, connecting too high, hitting the bridge of your nose and your forehead. Your ears are ringing and you stumble, feeling something else connect with the side of your head. It knocks you over. The compact gravel of the parking lot leaves marks against your hands as you try to push yourself back up. You can see Tony the Succulent, fallen alongside you, his little crate keeping him safe. You reach out for him but your hand isn’t quite moving right and your fingers shaking.

You have no idea what’s happening, no idea what’s going on. You’re disoriented and dizzy.

“Oh no… are you okay?” You think for a minute someone’s going to help you, but then you see hands reaching down to pick up your succulent. Your eyes try to follow the hands, try to look up, but your head is throbbing and your body refuses to move more than it already has. 

It’s alright. You don’t have to look up. Suddenly Lawrence is beside you, leaning down on his hands and knees, securely holding the succulent to his chest, watching you like a feral animal.

Your vision is going in and out, and you see those wild eyes, and watch his lips move, but no sound comes out of them, not that you can hear at least.

The last thing you feel as your eyes shut is Lawrence hefting you up into his arms.


End file.
